Spray plastering machine



June 6, 1961 P. A. TERRY ETAL 2,987,302

SPRAY PLASTERING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 PAUL A. TERRY 8 JOSEPH DALE CALDWELL,

INVENTORS HERZ/G a JESSUB BY ATTORNEYS June 6, 1961 P. A. TERRY ETAL 2,987,302

SPRAY PLASTERING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1958 PAUL A. TERRY J JOSEPH DALECALDWELL,

INVENTOR.

HERZ/G 8 JESSUB ATTORNEYS June 6, 1961 P. A. TERRY ETAL 2,987,302

SPRAY PLASTERING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 57 57 PAUL A. TERRY a 58 JOSEPH DALE CALDWELL,

INVENTORS HERZ/G a JESSUP, By ATTORNE Y5 United States Patent Ofice 2,987,302 -Patented June 6, 1961 2,987,302 SPRAY PLASTERING MACHINE Panl.A. Terry, 7519 Marbrissa St., and Joseph Dale Caldwell, 7517 Marbrissa-SL, both of Huntington Park, Calif.

Filed Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,706 7 Claims. (Cl. 259-171) This invention relates to improvements in spray plastering machines. In this type of machine, plaster is mixed in a rotary drum and then discharged or delivered into a hopper from whichit may be pumped by a plaster pump to an applicator nozzle which is used to apply the plasterto the surfaces to be plastered.

' Prior art machines of this type have been subject to certaindeficiencies and shortcomingswhich it is the objective of this invention to overcome.

=The machine of this invention featuresa combination and arrangement of parts which improves the compactness of the over-all assembly and reduces its over-all height thereby increasing its adaptability to various types ofservice.

Particularly, the machine features an improved arrangement wherein the mixer is directly over the hopper with novel hinged chute attachments whereby the contents of the mixer can be discharged either directly into the hopper or alternatively into a wheel-barrow adjacent to the machine. Accordingly, the machine adapts itself to different types of service wherein the plastering may be performed using the nozzle fed from the plaster pump or the plastering may conveniently 'be performed from the wheelbarrow.

The machine is provided with a variable speed drive for theplaster pump which is remotely controlled from a control atthe spraynozzle. In thismanner, the machine is made highlyadaptable to 'diiferent types of service wherein the length of the delivery hose may, for example, be very. long with the spray nozzle at a considerable distance from themixing machine. 'The arrangement facilitates the adjustmentof plaster pumping .pressure .as may be necessary in accordance with .variations in the density 'of the mix.

Accordingly, a primary object of'theinvention is to provide an improved spray plastering machine wherein a mixeris provided directly over a discharge hopper with a'hinged adjustable, chute whereby the contents of the mixer. can be dumped or discharged directly into the hopper or alternatively, with the hinged chute in another position into .a' wheel-barrow.

. 7 Another object, is-to provide an improved spray plastering. machine as in the foregoing, wherein hinged adjustable chutes are-provided which in one position enable discharge of the mixer contents directly-into the hopper and which in a second position in-which one of the chutes is reversed, 'thesame chutes deliver the mixer contents into a wheelbarrow, or the'like.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide an=improved spray plastering machine having a remot'elycon'- trolled variable speed drive for the plaster pump-associ ated with the machine, the variable speed drive'being controlled from the spray-nozzle.

Another object is to provide a spray plastering machine havingan improved arrangement of parts wherein the machine is more compact an'd'has a lower over-all height and is otherwise more adaptable to varying types of service.

Further objects and-numerous additional advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the machine of the invention; v

' FIG. 2 is a plan view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is aside elevational view partly in sectionof the machine, and also showing diagrammatically the spray nozzle and connections thereto;

FIG. 4 is a front end view of the machine; and

-FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view'of the hopper ofthe machine.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing, the machine comprises a frame or chassis indicated: generally at 10. The machine is supported for transportability on side wheels, as designated at 1'1 and 12.

The mixing drum is designated generally at 15 and it is supported over a discharge or receiving hopper designated at 16. The .rnixfrom thehopper 16 is discharged or delivered into a plaster. pump in the form of a screw conveyor designated generally at 19.

The mixer and the plaster pump are drivenby a prime mover shown as an internal combustion engine indicated at 21 which is supported within an engine housing 23 carried on the frame of the machine. Within the housing 23 are also carried the transmissions, to the mixer rotor and the plaster pump or conveyor and the variable speed controls as will be described.

The mixing drum'15 is'circular and it is rotatably mounted on'a shaft 25. The shaft 25 is rotatably journaled in bearings '27 and28 at its ends. The shaft 25 has mounted on it within the mixing drum 15 the mixer or impeller blades as designated at 30. These blades 'are curved and angularly arranged to .give .a spiral mixing action to insure thorough agitation and mixing within'the drum.

The mixer rotor comprising the shaft 25 and the blades 30 is driven by the prime mover 21, as will be described.

The drum 15 has on its ends supporting brackets 32 and 33 which are bolted to the ends of the drum and in which the shaft 25 is journaled.

The mixing drum 15 is open at the top, as may'bese'en in FIG. 2. .At one side it has a'flared angular loading opening as may be seen at 36.' The :plaster; is loaded into the drum through thisloading opening. ."It'has within it a group of baffles, fas;.shown :at -37rin the:figures .v'vhich are:inrstaggeredrelationship as may be seen;.in:;l-?IG. :3. The machine is characterized in ,that itmay, be :loaded-by a single operator dumping a sack of ;pla"ster:.int0. .thegloading opening. The corners of the loading: opening 36 ;are partly covered over as shown at 38. V

At theother side of the upper part .ofthe mixing 15, ithasan outwardly flared discharge spout, 1215;511- dicated at 46, which is of less-.length than the drtrrmas shown. -Numeral 41 designates a hinged discharge pout or chute whichris adjustable about;;a:.hinge;.or pivot as shown at 42. The spout'41 is adjustableifrom filegposi; tion;shown to a clockwise 'rotatedgposition wherein,: the contents of the mixer drumare rdischarged -directlydnto thehopper, as'will beldescribed. i

Numeral 45 designates an ,uprighthandlewherehyfthe drum, 15 may be rotated in acounter-clockwisedirection looking at FIG. 4,'to a positionas;1shown .wherjein the handle is shown in broken lines. Clockwise rotation of the drum is limited by a limit stopfifi.rvhichengages-yvigh an upright supporting column 47 whichwill bedeseribed presently. Counter-clockwise rotationof the drumis limited by a limit stop 49 on the end of thedrumwhich engages withthe upright column 47.

The end bearing 27 is supported by theupri'ght column 47 which is attachedlo the frame "1 0 .at alowe r part thereof. The column "47 extends below'the'fr'ame ljfl and at its lower end there is provided a hinge'dgor foldable leg 52 whichjc an be folded down to irest upon the ground to give stability to the machine "duringoper ation. The leg :52 can be latched in its extended position by way, of bolt 53 moving through loops 54, -as shown.

The other end bearing 28 is supported from an-n'p i 3 standing post or column 55 upstanding from an angle bar wrthm the engine housing 23, as may be seen in FIG. 3. The hopper 16 is rectangular in shape and is directly beneath the mixing drum, as may be seeninthe figures.

At the lower part, the hopper has inwardly tapered sidewalls forming a funnel, as may be seen at 57, the hopper having a flanged opening 58 at the lower part so that it acts as a funnel discharging into this opening. The flanged opening 58 is bolted to a pipe elbow 60,-which is also-flanged and which is in turn attached by way of its flange to a pipe 59 connecting to the conveyor 19.

The hopper 16 is supported over the frame or chassis of the machine, the funnel-shaped part of the hopper being within the frame as shown. The column 47 is adjacent the front of the hopper and on opposite sides of the column there are bracing strips 56 attached to the hopper, as may be seen in FIG. 3 and in FIG. 4.

The wheels are rearward of the mixer and hopper and they are mounted on axles upwardly olfset from a transverse memher 48 which may be welded to the under sides of the frame 10.

As may be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper part of the hopper 16 is curved at one side to conform to the curvature of the mixing drum 15. The inlet to the hopper for contents dumped or discharged from the mixing drum is at the upper left side of the hopper, as may .be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. The contents of the mixing drum 15 may be dumped or discharged from the discharge spout or opening 40 directly into the hopper or into a wheelbarrow adjacent to the machine. This is accomplished by way of an adjustable hinged chute or spout, as designated at 61. This spout is arcuate, as shown, and is hinged by way of a piano hinge, as shown at 62, to the upper outer edge at the top of the hopper 16. The piano hinge has a hinge pin 63. The inner edges of the spout or chute 61 conform to the curvature of the mixing drum and in its position, as shown in full lines in FIGS. 4 and 5, its lower end registers with the inlet opening at the upper left side of the hopper 16. With the spout or chute 61 in the position shown in full lines for delivery or dumping into the hopper, the machine is operated with the chute 41 rotated to its broken line position shown in the upper part of FIG. 4, wherein the discharge spout 40 of the mixing drum 15 discharges directly into the chute 61 and into the inlet opening of the hopper 16. Thus when the mixing drum is rotated to the broken line position of handle 45, the material is discharged through spout 40, the chute 41 forming a baflle over the discharge spout 40. During this operation the discharge spout 40 and chute 41 move down through chute 61 to the hopper inlet. 7

When the type of service being performed is such that it is not appropriate to use the spray nozzle or in the event of breakdown of the plaster pump, the hinged chutes are adjustable to a position for delivering or dumping the hopper contents into a wheel-barrow. For this operation, the chute 61 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction about its hinge to the broken line position, as shown in FIG. 4. Chute 41 is held in the counterclockwise rotated position shown in FIG. 4 so that in a dumping operation when the mixing drum 15 is rotated counter-clockwise by the handle 45, the chute 41 comes into the broken line position shown in FIG. 4 and the spout '40 will now discharge into the chute41 and thence into the chute 61 for delivery into a wheelbarrow.

The chute 61 has. an extending arm 65 which in the full line position of FIG. 4 engages with a spring clip 66 on thefront end of the hopper :16 to hold the chute in position. 5

The conveyor 19 is of a known type comprising a cylindrical housing as shown, which is supported by wayfofhanger brackets 70 and 71 bolted to partsof the frame 10, as may be seen-in FIGS. 3 and 4. The front part of the frame is of triangular structuregenerally,

4 as may be seen in FIG. 2, comprising angular side members 74 and 75 and a transverse member 76 with a central draw bar or draft tongue attached to the transverse member 76 and extending forwardly through a shorter transverse member 77 extending between the ends of the angular members 74 and 75. The draft tongue is designated at 80. r

The plaster pump or conveyor 19 is at one side 0 the machine and the pipe 59 taking the discharge from the hopper 16 feeds into the side of the plaster pump. The plaster pump comprises an internal screw conveyor driven by a shaft 82 which has mounted on it a sprocket wheel 83 driven through a link chain 84 from another sprocket wheel 85. The plaster pump 19 discharges into a conduit leading to a spray nozzle 91 which is powered by compressed air fed to it through a conduit 92, the spray nozzle operating as an aspirator to discharge the plaster therefrom for plastering purposes. Provided at the nozzle 91, is a push-button switch 93 which controls the variable speed drive for the plaster pump 19.

The prime mover for the equipment as shown is the internal combustion engine 21 having an exhaust stack 94 and an air intake 95. At the left end of the engine 21 is a housing 96 containing a speed-reducing gear transmission or speed changer, whereby power at reduced speed may be delivered to the mixer or rotor within the mixing drum 15. 7

Extending from the variable speed transmission 96 is a shaft 98 having on it a sprocket wheel 99 which through a link chain 100 drives another sprocket wheel 102 mounted on a counter-shaft 103. The counter-shaft 103 is journaled in pedestal bearings 105 and 106 supported .on angle bars within the engine housing 23, as shown. Mounted on the counter-shaft '103 is a pinion gear 107 which meshes and drives a largergear 108 on the shaft 25 of the rotor within the mixing drum 15.

The speed reduction within the transmission 96 may be adjusted by a control handle 110 which is on .the outside of the equipment housing 23 as may be seen in FIG. 4.

The shaft 112 of the engine 21 at the right end has mounted on it a pulley 113 which drives another pulley 114 througha belt 115. The pulley 114 is on the shaft of an air compressor 116 which discharges air under pressure through the conduit 92 which is delivered to the nozzle 91 for operating the plaster spray nozzle, as previously described. 7 a j Numeral 120 designates a counter-shaft which with axially aligned shaft 119 is journaled in pedestal bearings 121 and 122 supported from angle bars within .the equipment housing 23, as shown. Mounted on the counter-shaft 120 is a variable speed transmission 125 which may be of conventional type. The counter-shaft 120 has a sprocket wheel 127 on the end thereof which is driven through a link chain 128 from a sprocket wheel 129 also on the shaft 112 of the engine 21.

The speed changer 125 is controlled by a bushing 132 which is slidable on the counter-shaft 119 and translates hand out with respect to the housing of the speed changer 125. The'bushing 132 is adjustedby a control arm 134 which has a yoke at the lower part pivoted to the bushing 132 by a'pivotl35. At an intermediate part of the arm 134, it has a screw-threaded coupling 137 pivotally attached to it and engaged with thiscoupling is a screw-threaded rotatable stem 138. The stem 138 is driven by an electric motor 140 througha coupling 141. '1 j The arm 134 has an upwardly extending part 143 which operates between limit switches 145 and 146 having stems with rollers at their ends engageable with the part 143 of the control arm; The limit switches 145 and 146 control separate fields of the motor 140 so that either one field or the other can be energized through its respective limit switch byv way of circuits, not shown,

for thereby reversing the field of the motor and thus reversing its direction of operation. The armature of the motor 140 is controlled from the push button switch 93 through a circuit, as shown at 150, supplied with power from a suitable power source, as indicated at 151.

As can be understood, the speed-changer 125 is adapted for varying the speed of its output shaft 119 on the end of which is a sprocket wheel 155 which drives a sprocket 156 through a link chain, the sprocket wheel 156 being on the end of a counter-shaft 159 supported in bearings 169 and 161 attached to angle bars, as shown within the equipment housing 23. On the other end of the counter-shaft 159 is the previously described sprocket wheel 85 through which the plaster pump is driven. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the operator can control the speed at which the plaster pump is driven and, accordingly, can control the pressure at the spray nozzle from the push-button control at the nozzle. In operating the motor 140, the arm 134 can be driven to any desired point intermediate the limit switches and stopped in that position with the speed-changer 125 thus adjusted to that point. The arm 134, in other words, can at any time be driven to the limit of its travel in either direction and then driven back to any desired intermediate point.

Summarizing the over-all operation, the plaster to be mixed is loaded into the mixing drum as described and mixed by the rotor therewithin operating at a speed which may be adjusted to a suitable value by way of the adjusting handle 110.

When the mix is to be dumped into the hopper, the drum is manually rotated by the handle 45 and the mix is dumped directly into the hopper, if the hopper is to be used. If the hopper and the plaster pump are not to be used, the chutes 41 and 61 are appropriately positioned in the manner previously described and when the mix is dumped it is dumped into the chute 61 in its reversed position so that the mix goes through the chute in the opposite direction into a wheel-barrow.

During operation, when the plaster pump is being used, the operator may at any time, from the nozzle which may be at a remote point, adjust the speed of the plaster pump and accordingly the rate at which the plaster is delivered through the nozzle.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will observe that there has been provided a novel spray plaster machine having the advantages of compactness and limited over-all height and great adaptability to various types of service. For operating without use of the hopper or plaster pump, adjustments can be made in the attachments described for providing maximum convenience in discharging the plaster into a wheel-barrow for that type of service.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in which it is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to the details described herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

We claim:

1. In a spray plastering machine in combination: means comprising a rotary mixing drum; means comprising a hopper arranged directly below said drum, said drum having a discharge spout through which the contents of the drum are adapted to be discharged upon rotation of the drum; said hopper having a receiving opening and means comprising a hinged chute associated with said opening; said hinged chute having a position in which it is adapted to receive discharge from the drum upon rotation of the drum and to deliver said discharge into the inlet opening of the hopper; and said hinged chute haw'ng another position adapted to receive the discharge from the discharge opening of the rotary drum and to deliver said discharge outside of said hopper.

2. In a spray plastering machine in combination: means comprising a rotary mixing drum; means comprising a hopper directly below said drum, said hopper having a receiving opening at one side thereof; said mixing drum having a discharge spout adapted to discharge contents of the drum upon rotation thereof; a hinged chute associated with the delivery opening of said drum; a second hinged chute associated with the inlet opening of said hopper; said second hinged chute having a reverse position about its hinge wherein it is adapted to deliver material outside of said hopper; and said first hinged chute having a position with respect to the discharge spout of said drum wherein upon rotation of the drum it is adapted to deliver material into said second chute in the other position of the second chute wherein the said second chute delivers the material outside of said hopper.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said second hinged chute is of curved conformation conforming to the curvature of said drum whereby in its position for delivery of material into hopper, the said discharge spout and first hinged chute move downwardly through it to the hopper inlet opening.

4. In a spray plastering machine in combination: means comprising a rotary mixing drum; said drum having a discharge spout through which material is adapted to be discharged upon rotation of the drum; means comprising a hinged delivery chute having a curvature conforming to that of the drum and adapted to receive material discharged from the discharge spout of the drum; said hinged chute being rotatable about its hinge to a reverse position disposed outwardly from the drum; and means comprising a second hinged chute associated with the discharge spout of the drum movable to a position about its hinge wherein it delivers material from the discharge spout of the drum to the hinged delivery chute in the reverse position of the chute.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said second hinged chute has a position forming a battle over said discharge spout.

6. In a spray plastering machine, in combination: a frame; a cylindrical mixing drum mounted on said frame for selective tilting about a horizontal axis; rotary plaster mixing means mounted in said drum; a receiving hopper fixedly mounted on said frame directly below said drum and having an inlet opening; said drum having a discharge spout for discharging material therefrom when said drum is tilted about said axis; a delivery chute mounted on said hopper and extending upwardly alongside said drum to receive material discharged from said spout and positioned to direct said material into said inlet opening of said hopper.

7. The structure of claim 6 including a chute movably mounted on said drum adjacent said discharge spout, said second-mentioned chute being movable from a first posi' tion wherein it directs material from said spout away from said inlet opening to a second position wherein it forms a bafile over said discharge spout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 968,275 Smith Aug. 23, 1910 1,419,737 Kiddie June 13, 1922 1,829,479 Elkins Oct. 27, 1931 2,352,202 Johnson June 27, 1944 2,612,250 Sarosdy Sept. 30, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 526,627 Canada June 19, 1956 854,320 Germany Nov. 4, 1952 

